The very fact that the girl child has become a topic of discussion and debate indicates that there something different in the case of a girl child than the rest of the human species, or is there?

One of the many reasons this topic is being discussed is the deeply disturbing statistics that came to light in the year 2011, wherein the national Census 2011 revealed the shocking decline of child sex ratio (i.e. ratio of the number of females vs every 1000 males) –from from the year 2001 where there were 927 females to 1000 males, to only 914 females in the year 2011.

The top three states with highest ratios were:

Mizoram               971 girls per 1000 boys
Meghalaya          970 girls per 1000 boysKerala                   959 girls per 1000 boys

Bottom three States for child sex ratio were:

Haryana               830 girls per 1000 boys

Punjab                  846 girls per 1000 boys

J & K                      859 girls per 1000 boys

This led to the announcement of the National Girl Child Day which is celebrated on 24th January annually in India to offer support and new opportunities to the girls in our country. Additionally, International Day of the Girl Child, or Day of the Girl, is observed on 11th October annually worldwide. It is celebrated to raise awareness among people about all the inequalities faced by the girl child in the society in many regions all over the world.

One would think that the issues of gender discrimination only occur in third world countries but this is a world wide phenomena, the difference being only in the degree of suppression. Even today we hear of crimes against women and that too in a country like the United States.

It is rightly believed that, a country where women are not respected, can never prosper and progress. It is with this background that, it is better late than never to “Save the girl child” and so it has become the focus of attention of everyone all over the India in order to improve the overall socio-economic status of women.  As a result, a few significant initiatives have been launched by the Government. Ladli Lakshmi, Sukanya Samridhi Yojana were some of the notable schemes launched to promote the girl child. The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (save the girl child and educate the girl child) Campaign was launched in January 2015, in Haryana(the place having the lowest sex ratio), for the welfare of women. Govt. along with various NGOs have helped to a great extent to spread awareness about this topic. Pre-Conception and Prenatal Diagnostics Testing or PCPNDT Act have been passed that prohibits doctors from revealing the sex of a foetus examined especially in ultrasound tests, so that sex-selective abortions might be prevented.

India’s sex ratio at birth, improved slightly over the last 10 years. But there are now more states where the sex ratio has fallen in the same time period, according to recently released data from National Family Health Survey or NFHS 2015-’16.

The survey shows that India’s sex ratio at birth has increased from 914 in 2004-’05 to 919 in 2015-’16. However, sex ratio at birth has been falling in states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. In North Eastern states such as Sikkim, Assam the sex ratio at birth has fallen dramatically over 10 years.

However, we in Goa are lucky to be born in a generation where women are encouraged in almost all walks of life and are successful therein. Mr. Ban-ki-Moon, UN Genreal Secretary, once said “Investing in girls is a moral imperative – a matter of basic justice and equality”. For an educated girl can help to raise a family being more aware of healthcare and eventually her children’s own education and upbringing.

And last but not the least, bringing a child into the world itself is just the beginning – teaching both girls and boys the importance of mutual respect and bringing an end to exploitation is the real challenge. Let us pray and hope that our society and people at large set the right example so that a girl child is looked upon with as much pride as a boy.

May our coming generations be as lucky to see many more wondrous Goan women like Lorna Cordeiro, Sonia Shirsat, Isabel Santa Rita Vas, Ivana Furtado… the list is endless.

Louella Santimano Dias